Trivandrum | Published on: September 7, 2010

A small international study, published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, reports that families of terminally ill patients suffer significant economic effects related to the illness, forcing some households to accrue large debts and rendering them unable to afford food or attend government-funded education programs.

A sample of eleven patient-caregiver dyads (22 individuals) who visited Pallium India‘s Palliative Care Clinic in Trivandrum, Kerala, India completed a survey.

All of the respondents said that as a result of the illness they had to sell assets and it left them unable to work at the same level as before the illness.

A majority of caregivers said that they would have accepted outside help and they thought that having someone else to tend to their loved one would have prevented some sacrifices.

The full study can be downloaded here (pdf): Economic Impact of Terminal Illness and the Willingness to Change It